1. Statement of the Technical Field
The invention concerns registration of wireless clients through the use of a proxy service, and more particularly the registration and maintenance of data connections to one network through the use of a proxy service on a preferred network.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various communication networks known in the art. Such communication networks include Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) based networks, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) based networks, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) based networks, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) based networks and Long Term Evolution (LTE) based networks. Each of these communication networks comprises a plurality of communication devices and network equipment configured to facilitate communications between the communication devices.
Each communications network operates according to a communications protocol that dictates message formats and procedures for exchanging messages within the communications system and is often governed by industry standards. Such protocols and standards include GSM, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE Advanced (LTE-A) standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Other protocols include the CDMAOne and CDMA2000 protocols, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 family of protocols; the Project 25 (P25) and other LMR protocols, and the like. Among the many procedures defined by a network protocol is the registration procedure that allows a communications device to establish a link to the communications network and receive services via the communications network. This process is alternatively called “attachment.”
The transmission of data in a communications system can be divided into distinct operations. These operations are generally conceptualized into “data plane” functions and “control plane” functions. The data plane carries user data traffic transmitted in accordance with the appropriate protocol for the communications system. The control plane exists to support the data plane, and functions to establish (e.g. register or attach to the network), maintain, and modify the data connection used by the data traffic in accordance with the appropriate protocol for the communications system. For example, current technology requires that control plane messaging establish a data connection between a terminal and a network system. Once the data connection is established, data plane messages exchange data between the terminal and other parts of the network system.
Portable multi-network communications devices which maintain connections to multiple communications networks can rapidly deplete battery power when performing registration and connectivity management tasks independently on each network. These devices would benefit from mechanisms that minimize this registration and maintenance activity without affecting application response times.